Happy 20th! And thanks for everything!
The amount of good this site has done is...
absolutely...
INCALCULABLE
And we're not done, yet...
as sgt pepper sang, "it was 20 years ago today" ... that i made my first post on my first forum.. i obviously didn't put too much thought into what it should say although i must have burned 45 posts testing things and was too lazy to reset the counter before going live (?):.
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/46/welcome.
but somehow, it worked and grew and here we all are, 20 years on.
Happy 20th! And thanks for everything!
The amount of good this site has done is...
absolutely...
INCALCULABLE
And we're not done, yet...
over at jw talk they're saying because they're having to hold the upcoming memorial at home, they dont need to actually have the emblems.
apparently, listening to or watching the talk is the thing that counts.. "do this in rememberence of me" apparently means watching tony morris on your phone give a talk.. this begs the question... "what's the point?
".
Doesn't even matter if the emblems ARE present.
The 'Great Crowd' is not part of the New Covenant.
Jesus Christ is not their mediator.
Christianity is useless to them.
do you think any higher ups know that much of the doctrine they teach is bunk?
thinking back to the time of raymond franz, how he pointed out specifically numerous teachings that the churches really did have right all along, and really any of the hidden mic apostacy trials you listen to on youtube, you see that even when inconvenient bible teachings are proven, the elders just try to sweep it under the rug and move on.
i think i remember franz saying how one of the gb approached him somewhat sympathetically, but there was nothing he could do.. whether you believe in the bible or not, there are some basic beliefs common among most denominations because they're just so plainly stated, such things as heavenly life for all christians, no central authority structure, minimal use of god's name, etc.
Do you think any of the GB have different beliefs?
Of course.
How is their official doctrine established? Don't they have a voting system?
If all these guys had identical thoughts/ideas, there'd be nothing to vote on.
Have they not already laid the groundwork for warming those seats with non-anointed company men?
Helpers?
I think they have their 'continuation of religious government' plan already worked out.
Anyways, if these guys are not really calling the shots and are just figureheads (as has been asserted), then I don't know anything would change upon their demise. The same sinister forces would likely be in play behind scenes.
Best we can hope for is a strong personality to rise up and try to take control. I think we are due for a schism.
a guy i was great friend with in my teens 'phoned me out of the blue today, and brought back a lot of fond memories, he was df'd, because he was a very naughty boy lol, but as he said, as is common with a lot of us exes, he took a long time to grow up.
he spoke of my parents, who despite being jw's, were lovely people, they took him in to our home when his mum was in hospital for some weeks, he also spoke of the good times we had as kids, and how his parents were good to him, and made him what he is today despite being jw's.. we sometimes do not give credit where it is due, my parents made me a lover of truth, but it is real truth i espouse now of course.. perhaps this kind of view of our upbringing is more positive than concentrating on all the downsides of what is basically an evil cult ?
looking at the (very few) positives can perhaps help us heal ?.
It's nice to reconnect to those we leave behind. Circumstances demand that sacrifices are made, once we commit to a life outside the JW cult. My exit cost me my relationships with folks that I had real feeling for. I still think of them often.
Of course, it has occurred to me that I did not hold the same value for them, as they did for me. For if I did hold such value, why did our 'friendships' end (or at least go on extended hiatus) - waiting for some ultimate paradigm shift on somebody's part that would allow our 'friendship' to resume?
So, yeah...growing up within WT will provide you with some associates you can call 'friends', however, such is conditional to membership in the group. When such connections persist beyond the limitations of the JW cult, this is a pleasant surprise.
i know there is a huge college/university lobby here in the us that lives off of students paying, in some cases, enormous amounts of money just to attend.. putting politics aside, if that is possible, (and i am not a bernie sanders guy by any means), but how can we pay for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school, and then throw a huge debt to someone who wants to continue learning?
can't the us (public and state universities) afford four more years for young people to get on a career path without having to, in some cases, take out a mortgage/loan more than the cost of some homes?
then, (and nothing against immigrants, i am married to one), but then the us has to "import" students from other countries to fill the needs that we should be supplying here.
I think Human Resource (HR) Managers want to protect their butts when hiring.
I think there's a lot of merit to this...^^^
Nevertheless, after having sit through literally several dozens of group interviews over the past 2 years, I am still convinced that the best practice/policy is to simply
...hire the BEST AVAILABLE CANDIDATE
regardless of whether they have the (perceived) ideal academic credentials, or not.
Every time we let someone's degree win them a job, it has been a bad choice. Meanwhile, better employees have slipped thru our fingers.
The degree is just the cover charge to get you into the interview...
i know there is a huge college/university lobby here in the us that lives off of students paying, in some cases, enormous amounts of money just to attend.. putting politics aside, if that is possible, (and i am not a bernie sanders guy by any means), but how can we pay for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school, and then throw a huge debt to someone who wants to continue learning?
can't the us (public and state universities) afford four more years for young people to get on a career path without having to, in some cases, take out a mortgage/loan more than the cost of some homes?
then, (and nothing against immigrants, i am married to one), but then the us has to "import" students from other countries to fill the needs that we should be supplying here.
I think he's saying that
competence without college is >
college without competence
Bear in mind, all of these high-paying professions still require specialized training, and you'd likely need to demonstrate immediate competence to even start on-the-job training.
i know there is a huge college/university lobby here in the us that lives off of students paying, in some cases, enormous amounts of money just to attend.. putting politics aside, if that is possible, (and i am not a bernie sanders guy by any means), but how can we pay for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school, and then throw a huge debt to someone who wants to continue learning?
can't the us (public and state universities) afford four more years for young people to get on a career path without having to, in some cases, take out a mortgage/loan more than the cost of some homes?
then, (and nothing against immigrants, i am married to one), but then the us has to "import" students from other countries to fill the needs that we should be supplying here.
Does a $50,000 per year Harvard degree get you a better paying job than a $10,000 per year community college degree? If so, how many years does it take to recoup the extra tuition costs?
If Harvard degrees pay better dividends then try to get schooled at Harvard.
Oh, I agree that this analysis must be made from a real, hard 'cost vs. benefits' perspective. Of course, once you do that, the whole scam begins to shake apart. So much of the accepted narrative revolves around fogging up that perspective.
Expensive University/college makes folks smarter and better earners the same way that putting a bunch of short people on a basketball team makes them taller.
I have a great career in a hard science. The best and most essential parts of my education were acquired at Junior College. My employer paid for the remainder of my degree, so no risk to me. They have already recouped the expenses.
You gotta have a plan for yourself...
i know there is a huge college/university lobby here in the us that lives off of students paying, in some cases, enormous amounts of money just to attend.. putting politics aside, if that is possible, (and i am not a bernie sanders guy by any means), but how can we pay for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school, and then throw a huge debt to someone who wants to continue learning?
can't the us (public and state universities) afford four more years for young people to get on a career path without having to, in some cases, take out a mortgage/loan more than the cost of some homes?
then, (and nothing against immigrants, i am married to one), but then the us has to "import" students from other countries to fill the needs that we should be supplying here.
Is part of the problem the social prestige connected with having a fancy university degree? Does that drive up the cost? Do universities charge what the market will bear?
THIS RIGHT HERE^^^
It's not $50k per year because it's Harvard...
It 'Haaaahh - vuuhhd' because it's 50k per year
i know there is a huge college/university lobby here in the us that lives off of students paying, in some cases, enormous amounts of money just to attend.. putting politics aside, if that is possible, (and i am not a bernie sanders guy by any means), but how can we pay for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school, and then throw a huge debt to someone who wants to continue learning?
can't the us (public and state universities) afford four more years for young people to get on a career path without having to, in some cases, take out a mortgage/loan more than the cost of some homes?
then, (and nothing against immigrants, i am married to one), but then the us has to "import" students from other countries to fill the needs that we should be supplying here.
Imagine for a moment that we deemed a Honda Civic essential for worldly success.
A Honda Civic was a necessarily implement for every 18 year-old, who set out to make their way thru the world.
A Honda Civic was just...so damn important...that nobody should have to go without one, so the government was obliged to absorb the cost, so everyone could have one...
You think perhaps Honda would find a way to make their list price climb a little over the ~27k, where it sits now?